No fire from Gaza will be tolerated, Rivlin says

The prime minister, president and defense minister are attending a ceremony at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem marking the one-year anniversary of Operation Protective Edge.

The government also decided to change the designation of the campaign from its previous definition as an operation. The new designation denotes a conflict larger than an operation – Protective Edge was Israel’s longest conflict in years – but still lower than the designation of war.

A conflict defined as war allows businesses and individuals to sue the state for damages, a privilege not available with lower designations like operation or conflict.

During his speech at the ceremony, President Reuven Rivlin said:

The next conflict will be even more difficult than the last. It is clear that such a conflict will require a decisive and difficult decision. And the residents and leaders of the Gaza Strip must understand: the State of Israel will not accept a situation in which our blossoming towns – the granary of the State of Israel, of which we are so proud – are subjected to repeated and ongoing attacks. Not as drip after drip, not as rain, and not as a flood.

When there is no fire toward Sderot, Nahal Oz, Nir Banim, Ashdod or Ashkelon – then there will be no fire toward the Gaza Strip. The rehabilitation and rebuilding of Gaza is an Israeli interest, with the sole condition that Gaza ceases to be a front to carry out attacks against Israel at any given moment. Only the eradication of terror will bring an end to the murder of innocents on both sides.